Visit to Australia by Chile’s
Minister for Foreign Affairs

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, and
Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, welcomed the visit to
Australia of Chile’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Alejandro Foxley, from 28-31 July.

Mr Foxley and Mr Smith will sign the Australia-Chile Free
Trade Agreement at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday,
30 July.

Mr Smith said “This Free Trade Agreement, the first
to be concluded by the new Australian Government, is the most
comprehensive Free Trade Agreement Australia has
negotiated”.

“Upon entry into force, the Agreement will eliminate
97 per cent of tariffs on existing merchandise trade and 100
per cent of tariffs on existing merchandise trade by
2015.”

Mr Crean, who is in Geneva at the WTO Ministerial meeting
on the Doha round, said “This is a high-quality agreement
where commitments go beyond what each country has committed at
the WTO.

“The Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement will
reinforce the contribution of both countries to the
multilateral trading system and serve as an excellent model for
other APEC economies as they work towards deeper economic
integration.”

Mr Smith will also hold talks with Mr Foxley on a range of
bilateral and global issues on Wednesday.

Mr Foxley will also have a meeting with Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd during his visit.

While in Australia Mr Foxley will pursue a number of
private agreements to strengthen bilateral education linkages
following the announcement by the Chilean Government in May of
an expanded international scholarship program.

Australia and Chile enjoy strong bilateral relations based
on shared interests and cooperation, including in APEC and the
Cairns Group. Two-way trade is currently valued at more
than $850 million a year and the stock of Australian investment
in Chile currently exceeds US$3 billion.